cooper



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

T. COOPER. AUXILIARY FIR-E ALARM'SYSTEM.

No. 416,444. Patent ed Dec. 3, 1889.

WITNESSES! zmwl hvvnvrofi ATTORNEYS N. PETERS, PhGlo-Lhhogmpher, Walhillglon. D C.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets -Sheet 2.

T. COOPER. AUXILIARY FIRE ALARM SYSTEM.

No. 416,444. Patented Dec. 3, 1889.

WIT/M19856: INVENTOR N. PErERs, Phola-Lilhagnpher. Washington. n.c

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

T. COOPER. AUXILIARY FIRE ALARM SYSTEM.

(No Model.)

No. 416,444. Patented Dec. 3, 1889.

W y W m o 0 T N F. V N I u. PETERS. Phom-Uthcgrnpher. Washington, 04 c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS COOPER, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y.

AUXILIARY FIRE-ALARM SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 416,444, dated December 3, 1889. Application filed March 11, 1889: Serial No. 302,803. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS COOPER, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Auxiliary Fire-Alarm Systems; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a novel system of auxiliary fire-alarm telegraphs.

The invention consists in the organization and arrangement of devices, substantially as hereinafter fully described and claimed, whereby each of the auxiliary stations in any one circuit is adapted to directly notify the engine-house at which such circuit centers of the fact of the fire-call, the precise location of the same in the district, and at the same time the general fire-alarm circuit of the city has the same signal indicating the district sent to all the engine-houses which are on the general circuit.

In the drawings which form part of this specification, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus intended to be placed in the engine-house. Fig. 1 is an elevation of the upper portion of Fig. 1 with the indicatordisk removed; and Fig. 2 is a diagram indieating the arrangement of circuits, and clearly setting forth the nature of the present invention.

More particularly, my invention is as follows: I locate throughout a predetermined district a number of the ordinary form of the call-boxes O, which consist merely of a makeand-break wheel and suitable device for rotating said wheel. The particular construction of such boxes forms no part of the said invention, as there are a number of them on the market, any one of which will fulfill the purpose for which I intend it. These boxes are all connected into the auxiliary circuit, which terminates in an electro-magnetic signaling or indicating apparatus at the engine-house to which the auxiliary circuit leads, and in said circuit is placed a suitable battery B, of sufficient power to perform the necessary functions, hereinafter set forth.

. As the ordinary practice in auxiliary systems is to group the stations on the auxiliary circuit all within a convenient distance of one of the fire-alarm street-boxes of the general tire-alarm circuit, I also adopt this expedient and place the fire-alarm box F at a convenient point in the neighborhood of the stations on the auxiliary circuit. I wish to distinctly'state, however, that the general city circuit has no connection whatever with the auxiliary circuit. Nor is the apparatus at the engine-house connected in any way other than mechanically to the said general city circuit.

As stated,I locate at the en gine-house an electro-magneticindicating device, which convenientlyconsists of adisk D, adapted to be rotated one step for each stroke of the gong, which is of the electro-mechanical character, and this disk D has upon it as many numerals as there are boxes on the auxiliary circuit. A variety of constructions may be adopted for the stepby-step rotation of the indicating-disk D; but I prefer the form shown. This is constructed in accordance with Letters Patent No 334,380, 'dated January 12, 1886. The energy of the wound-up spring tends to rotate the gearwheel 20 in the direction of its arrow. A small pinion (not shown) meshing with wheel 20 is mounted on a shaft 21, and on this is keyed an escapement-arm 22, which also acts as a crank, one' end being connected by a link 23 to the L-shaped striker or hammer 24, which rocks on a stud 25. In the path of arm 22 are two oscillating detent-heads 26 27, supported on arbors journaled in the frame and connected by mutually-engaging rockarms, one of which is oscillated directly by the armature 28 of the controlling-magnet 29; The normal position is shown by full lines in Fig. 1, the armature 28 being in attracted position. When the circuit of magnet 29 is opened, the armature retracts and throws the heads 26 27 into the position shown in dotted lines. The arm 22 is thus released by head .27 and flies around by' the power of the spring until caught by head 26, causing the hammer to strike a sudden powerful blow on the gong; The new position of arm, link, and hammer,

of magnet29 is again closed, the heads 26 99 is shown by dotted lines. NVhen the circuit.

are again oscillated to normal position by the armature, head 26 releasingthe arm 22, which flies over against head 27 and remains there until the magnet-circuit is again opened. This construction gives me a very simple step-by-step motion for my indicator. Upon the mainspring-shaft 30, I fix a gear-wheel 31, and meshing with this is a pinion 32, which is fixed on the end of sleeve 33, which is mounted on the pin 3 L and carries the indicating-disk D with it. The disk D thus receives a step-by-step movement, always in one direction and through the same number of degrees, for each break and make of the magnet-circuit-i. e., the auxiliary line.

As the system is a closed-circuit system, it is the usual practice not to use the numerals 1 or 2 for signaling purposes, and I therefore make the series of auxiliary call-boxes without such numbers.

At a suitable point on the frame carrying the electro-mechanical gong-preferably fixed to the gong itself or to its central stud-I locate an ordinary make-and-break mechanism, such, for instance, as that ordinarily used in fire-alarm boxes for street service.

In Fig. 1 Ihave shown the make-and-break wheel \V, its driving-train, and propellingspring 5. The wheel W, with its contacts 22, is directly in the general city circuit, which ofcourse includes the box F of the district to which the particular auxiliary circuit shown belongs. The make-and-break mechanism placed at the indicator in the enginehouse is arranged to send the same signal over thegeneral city circuit as the box F.

Each of the station call-boxes C in the auxiliary circuit of course sends in a different signal to the indicator at the engine-house. This indicator is arranged to display at a window (represented in Fig. 1 by dotted lines) the number corresponding to the box which has sent in the call. The make-and-break mechanism at the engine house is shown with a detent d on a pivoted lever l, the detent takinginto one of the Wheels of the makeand-break train. A lever m is pivoted in a suitable manner, so that it is moved by a projection p on the indicator-disk D as the latter rotates, and the projection 12 is so placed as to push the lever on the third stroke of the gong; or, in other words, 011 the break in the circuit given at each signal. The lower end of the lever on is provided with a wedgeshaped toe adapted in its movement to lift the pivoted. lever Z, so as to release the clocktrain and set the make-and-break wheelNV in motion.

The result of the foregoing construction and arrangement is that when any one of the boxes on the auxiliary circuitis operated its number is immediately indicated at the engine-house, thereby giving notice of the particular location of the fire, and in addition the independent make-and-break wheel W is at the same moment set in operation, so that the number indicating the fire-alarm box 1 is also signaledover the general city circuit, and all engine-houses thus notified of the district within which the fire has occurred. I thus accomplish immediate accurate notice to the nearest engine-house of the precise location of the fire, and at the same time give notice to all the engine-houses of the fire-alarm box nearest to which the fire has occurred. These results are accomplished in the simplest possible manner and with the simplest possible devices, using only a small battery on the auxiliary circuit and a single electro-magnet for the purpose of notifying and indicating the location.

I claim as mv invention 1. The auxiliary fire-alarm system, comprising a main circuit, a closed independent auxiliary circuit, including a battery and individual call-boxes, at the auxiliary stations, and a visual indicator at the engine-house, consisting of an electro-magnet in the auxiliary OIIGlllii, an oscillating armature therefor, an

indicator-motor having a step-by-step escapement controlled by said oscillating armature, and a rotary indicator-disk geared to the shaft of the indicator-motor and adapted for direct movement thereby in a single direction only, in combination with an independent motor having a make-and-break wheel included in the main. circuit, adapted to signal the general locality of the said auxiliary boxes, and a detent for the same mechanically interposed between the said independent motor and the indicator-disk and adapted for operation by the movements of said indicator mechanism to. release the independent motor, substantially as described.

2. The auxiliary fire-alarm system, comprising a main circuit, a closed independent auxiliary circuit, including a battery and individual call-boxes, at the auxiliary stations, and a visual indicator at the engine-house, consisting of an electroemagnet in the auxiliary circuit, an oscillating armature therefor, an indicator-motor having a step.-bystep escapement controlled by said oscillating armature, and a rotary indicator-disk geared to the shaft of the indicator-motor and adapted for direct lllOVQlllGllt thereby in a single direction only, in combination with an independent motor having a make-and-break wheel included in the main circuit adapted to signal the general locality of the said auxiliary boxes,

a detent for said independent motor, an interposed pivoted lever for lifting the detent and releasing the motor, and a tripper on the 110- tating shaft of the indicator-disk arranged to strike said lever only after more than one break in the auxiliary circuit, substantially as described.

7 In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature in Witnesses:

T. J. Mc'lrenn, J. A. IIINDLE. 

